Monday, September 29, 2014

Top Ten Post #3: Oven-Baked Chicken Fajitas

Where did September go?!  I had been posting regularly and then school started...

As I have been looking back over my "Recipes I've Tried" board, I really am struggling to pick my top ten!  I easily could do a top ten desserts post...maybe I'll do that once I work my way through my top 10 overall.  So basically I've been deciding my top ten recipes by thinking which recipes are regulars.  I always feel like we eat the same things, which we don't- at all.  If we eat the same thing twice in a month, that's super rare.  I get bored eating the same thing again and again.  Another big hit in our house is Oven Baked Fajitas from Real Mom Kitchen.

I first made this recipe a few years ago and we still love it as much to this day!

We follow the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen precisely, but we put in less chicken and add more veggies.


Ingredients:
  • 2 Tbl. vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp. of each chili powder and cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced*
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion*
We combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.  Next, spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and toss in the peppers, onions, and chicken (all thinly sliced).  Then we pour the sauce into the pan and stir to combine.  Bake the fajitas at 350 for 25 minutes.  Right before the fajitas get pulled out, heat up some tortillas in the microwave.  We always have plenty for lunch the next day.


We love this recipe because it is so quick, easy, and full of flavor.  Sometimes we make the fajitas without the tomatoes  and there is still nice flavor.  I love the flavor the tomatoes add, but it does make the fajitas a bit more runny.

I do add a whole red bell pepper because I love them.  Real Mom Kitchen uses the tomatoes with chillies, but I prefer the green pepper and onion.  I've tried other baked fajitas and I've tried Crock-Pot fajitas, but this recipe is by far the best!  Try it tonight- I promise you add it to your dinner cycle.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Top Ten Post #2: Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

This weekend I made my 312 Pinterest recipe!  As I am working my way to Pin 400, I am going to first finish writing about my top ten from the first 300.

The first top ten recipe I wrote about can be found here for baked crab rangoon.

A second favorite of ours is a Black Bean and Spinach Enchilada.  The recipe comes from The Garden Grazer.  This is a great vegetarian dish and it has made it routinely into our Meatless Mondays.  The only thing we do differently is omit the cilantro.  I simply do not care for it. Aside from the cilantro, we keep it exactly the same; we absolutely love it the way it is!  The recipe even goes well using wheat tortillas if you prefer.


This dinner comes together quite quickly.  First prepare the filling while the oven is preheating.



After the filling is made, I start to make the enchilada sauce. The sauce is quick and easy to make, but if you want to save a few more moments, you could use store bought sauce. 
*Do be careful that the pan isn't too hot when you begin to make the sauce.  I heat the olive oil over a medium low heat.  Otherwise the tomato paste will splatter.*
 Next, put about 1/3 a cup of filling into each enchilada and roll each tortilla as nicely as you can (hopefully better than I do).
Pour some sauce onto the enchiladas.  Then be sure to sprinkle generously with cheese!


After baking for 20 minutes, it is time to dig in!  One of the best things about this recipe is that there is plenty to pack for lunch the next day.